Jacob’s Ladder and Exile: Comfort Zones vs. Risk by Yaakov Bieler At one point, Adam Gopnick, as part of his discussion about Charles Darwin in his book entitled, Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln and Modern Life (Knopf, New York, 2009) writes that great scientific discoveries are such that when others [...]

More on שאל אביך and a First Example of אל תטוש: What Are the Halachot of Switching One’s Pronunciation of Hebrew? by Gidon Rothstein In my most recent post in this venue, I noted the Rov, z”l’s, recollection of the interaction between the Beit haLevi and the Radzhyner Rebber. While others record the incident differently, [...]

The Book, the Prayer, and the Heart in Tension by Nathaniel Helfgot It has become a widespread phenomenon in many Modern-Orthodox asheknazi kehillot (as well as a number of haredi ones as well) to experience Tisha Be-Av morning (and its mourning) in a different fashion than had been practiced for decades and centuries. I refer [...]

From Our Archives: Rabbi Manuel Poliakoff and The Use of Microphones on Shabbat If a microphone is turned on before Shabbat, or pre-set on a timer, may one use it on Shabbat? As is well known, many American Orthodox congregations used a microphone in the middle of the 20th century, with some continuing to use [...]

Talmudic Mediation Conflicting Interpretations of the Talmud as Conflicting Needs in Society Baba Batra 5a, 7b-9a[1] Guest Post by Daniel Roth I. Introduction Gemara be-iyun, or the traditional in-depth study of the Talmud practiced in advanced Jewish learning institutes around the world, is widely regarded as the study of the Babylonian Talmud together with its [...]

Prayer and Consciousness Guest Post by Yakov Nagen (Genack) Each day we repeat our daily prayers and say more than a hundred blessings. This repetition of the same words day in and day out can be viewed as a tedious routine. However, there is another way to relate to this reality. What we are sorely [...]

The Dangers of “Soft Stringency:” Hearing Aids, Chumrot, and Moral Sensitivity in Halakhic Handbooks By Shlomo Brody Is it forbidden to speak to someone wearing a hearing aid on Shabbat? In an earlier post, I discussed the impact of halakha handbooks on contemporary halakhic discourse, focusing on the whether certain books change their rulings given [...]

The Akeidah and Our Commitment to Halakha by Aryeh Klapper “Do not send your hand forth against the lad; Do not do him any harm”. Every year at this time we tremble in suspense as Avraham raises the knife, then sigh in relief when the angel calls out in time to save Yitzchak. We rejoice [...]

שאל אביך ויגדך: What Are the Parameters of Looking to Tradition for Guidance? by Gidon Rothstein In a recent shiur I give at Webyeshiva.org, I came across a story the Rov, zt”l, tells about his great-grandfather, the Beis haLevi. In the 1800s, the Radzyner Rebber, R. Gershon Henoch Leiner, believed he had re-discovered tekhelet, the [...]